at this hour news cameras and reporters are getting a firsthan look at the cleanup underway in a devastated san bruno neighborhood. >> pg&e is investigating a stunning possible cause in the natural gas explosion. tiny bacteria. jenellewang is live in san bruno with the latest. jenelle? >> kristen and cheryl, it's called influenc corrosion, also known as mic. investigators will seif that was a cause in the san bruno explosion that happened two weeks ago and destroyed this neighborhood. mic i believed to be the cause of a deadly explosion in new

mexico ten years ago. a gas line ruptured in the desert killing 12. after looking at the direct pipeline, investigators found destrtive microbes which can lie undetected for years in an underground pipeline. it starts eating and corrodg away the metal. the pipeline in new xico over 50 yea old and 30 inches in diameter. the pipeline in san bruno, over 50 years old and 30 inches in diameter. pg&e told state regulators last year there s ongoing concern about t internal corrosion for the pipeline that ran from san francisco through san bruno. microbes have shown up in several tests along the lines. experts not associated with pg&e confirm it's very likely pipelines as o as 50 years old could have microbes in it. the only way to check is by sending robo called smart pigs or cleaning pigs to detect any

cracks or remove gunk on the walls but can't fit in narrow pipelines like e one in san bruno. a professor, a civil engineer at ucs disagrees with the report saying it's unlikely the cause is internal crosion. >> if you don't have the statistics of the u.s., most of the cases of corrosio, damage, are external. >> pg&e can't comment at this time to the article because of the ongoing investigation but will say mic is rare in the pipeline system. there ha been seven leaks in the pg&e transmission lines, about 6400 mis since january 2005 due to internal corrosion but they don't know if they we called by mic's specifically. the insides were removed and microbial inhibitors applied

when necessity. the investigation is expected to take one year. we just got word media was allow in. i got a tour of thi area. we'll get a full report tonight at 5:00 and 6:00. >> jenelle, thanks very much taz memorial as much as will be held today for three generations of a family who died in the gas explosion. 85-yearld levon bulls, her son gregory and her 17-year-old grandson william all died in the intern no. today's service will take place at the first presbyterian curch at burlingame at 4:00 this afternoon. a procession at mills high school. >> traffic is being diverted around oakld airport this morning following a crash between a van and a motorcycle. sky 7 hd took these pictures shortly after the crash happened at 6:00 this morning at the intersection of haginburgeroad and link drive. you can see that the bike slammed into the side of the van. the torcyclist was taken to the hospital. his condition is unknown.

southbound and northbound haginbger road will be closed in the area until about noontime. >> the m accused of kidnping jaycee dugard and holding her captive in a home in antioch 18 years will be in court this afternoon and may enter an insanity lea. phillip garrido's attorney may say h client is mentally incompetent to stand trial. if the judge agrees to order a mental evaluati, it would put an immediate stop to the proceengs and could delay the case for years. both garrido and his wife nancy are pleaded not guilty. if incompetent, he will be sent to a state mical facility. >> a judge is expected to decide whether california can proceed with the execution of a murdere next wednesday. the same judge who wille ruling today also ordered califora to stop executions in 2006 and dend the changes in the lethal injection process. death penalty opponents claim

the state hasn't met those requirements. but the state department of corrections says it's built a new death chamber and has better trained i staff. officials say there's no reason to delay the execution of albert brown. brown was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 15-year-oldirl in 1980. it appears the state is paying scores of rapists, elder abusers to care for california's most vulnerable residents. according to the l.a. times, data provided by state officials show 210 workers and applicants flagged by investigors as unsuitable to work in th state's home health aid program are still scheduled to resu origin workg with elderly or disabled californians. the rules of the program prevent invesgators from reporting on the background of many of the felons. efforts to fix the loophole has stalled in the legislature. >> governor schwarzenegger and top legislative leaders hope to have a final budget agreement by monday.

late yesterday bo sides agreed on a budget framework but did not elaborate on details. they say they will try to hammer out those details this coming weekend. if they can agree, legislators will be caed back to sacramento for debatend then a vote. republican and democrats were deeply split over how to close the state's $19 billion deficit with tax increases or spending cuts. today is the 86th without a budget. that's the longest the state has gone in a fiscal year without an approved spending plan. >> $900 million in transportatn spending on hold. our media partner the san jose merry news reports the california transportation commissiois delaying the start of several bay area projects. it includes adding merging lanes between univerty avenue and marsh road on highwa 101 in san mateo county. also on hold $9 million from metering lights and chp pullout areas in 101 in san mateo

county. also rebuildg the tully road 101 interchange in san jose. >> incumbent democratic senator barbara boxer widening her lead over challengecarly fiorina. she leads the former hewletpackard ceo 47 to 41%. senator boxer's support has remained the same since the last poll in july but ferrino slipped slightly. 12% of voters still say they are undecided in this race. >> president obama is sharply criticizing the iranian president mahmoud ahmadineja's controversial cmments on terrorist attacks in america. the president called mahmoud ahmadinejad's reharshed rant about september 11th conspira theories offensive. >> it was hateful. and particularly for him to make the statement here in manhattan just -- just a little north of

ground zero. for him to make a statement like that was inexcusable. >> the u.s. walked out after the address to the u.n. yesterday after he suggested the terrorist attacks were staged by the u.s. to boost support for israel. today mahmoud aadinejad defended his remarks and challenged the united nations to set up a commission to study the attacks. >> somethi most of us test several times a day is apparentlyrtier than a public toilet seat. but first... >> an easier answer to ha scientists that have vegetles that pick themselves. the genetic engineers over fruit of the loom have made great strides in human food hybrids. >> comedian steven colbert takes his ct to capitol hill. his biting message to lawmakers about illegal workers. >> actress lindsay lohan trades in her designer clothing today for an orange jumpsuit. ♪

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comedn steven colbert bringing attention to the serious issue of illegal immigration. eric thomas here with more. >> his performance there was not so much. colbert took on the serious subjt with house members from both parties not that thrilled to see them. one asked him to file a statement a leave the hearing room. colbert stayed and the results were pretty funny. >> congresswoman laugh grin asked me to share my vast experien spending one day as a migrant farmworker. >> after spending one days in the shoes of a farm worker, comedian stev colbert brought his toue and cheek observations to capitol hill. >> i don't want a tomat picked by a mexican, i want it by an

american and in a spa where a chilean gives me a brazilian. >> for the most part, a pompous commentator poking fun at himself and others, migrant farm worke who are illegal i immigras. >> i trust you'll work in the best interest of the american people as you always do. >> but the issue is a touchy one with some conservative meers of congress calling for closing the border and sending illegals back. others said colbert's testimony would make a mockery of the issue. democrs called that senti ironic. >> republicans invited clint eastwood to testify befor congress about 88 lawsus. and republicans also invited elmo to talk about music education at the house appropriation subcommittee on labor, healt and human

services. >> there were testy moments including this one with io republican steve king over how much work colbert actually did. >> i watched you picking beans and i believe you did. i also watched you -- you said packing corn but i was watching you unpaccorn. >> put it in the trucks, ice it down. >> as colbert woundown his appearance, he made this seriou observation. >> one of the least powerful people are my migrant worker that is havno rights as a result. we invite them to come here and at the same time ask them to leave. >> his written statement apparentl made serious points about the low pay and hard work done by migrant farm workers. he urged lawmakers to do something so he doesn't have to go out there. we have colbert's testimony from today's full immigration heang on our website abc7news.com under "see it on tv." >> brought a lot more attention to it than it would have gotten. >> yes, he did.

>> eric, thank you. >> sure. >> another celebrity in the news. actress lindsay lohan is back in jail right now. a judge ordered her to remain in custody for failing a drug test last week. the troubled star could serv nearly a month for violating her probation. the judge wouldn't listen to argumtless for bail from low hand's attorney in a beverly hills courtroom. she was taken away in handcuffs immediately after. this is lohan's third sentence for a three-yr-old drunken drivin case from 2007. her next court date is in four weeks. >> mike ahead with th weekend forecast. >> a warm one, too. take a look outside, show you the sunshine and warm weath already brewing. from emeryvilleack to the coast and dot see clouds. the ee air conditioning over. we'll have some poor air quality. a possibility. i'll tell youwhen the heat is coming our neighborhood. >> mike, thanks. a $100 million announcement. why facebook.c says he's giving a huge donation to newark

public schools. next time on... the amazing thing is not that everybody isot saved. the amazing this is that anydy is saved! and then: all i knows, i don't want anyone to go to hell. but its not my choice. next time on...

♪

facebook.com founder mark zuckerberg is making official his$100 million donation to newark, new jersey, public schools. the 26-year-o became one of hi-tech's biggest philanthropists. he did grow up nearby. he picked newark for the gift because he believes in these guys. you see them there with him. the governor an mayor and stanford gradua. educati is paramount. >> every child deserves a good educatn. right now that's not happening. (applause) >> you know, i mean, i've had a lot of opportunities in my life. a lot of that comes from having gone to really good schools. i just wanna do what i can to make sure that everyone has those sameopportunities. >> new york syste has low test scores and graduation rates and has been taken over by the state for poor magement.

that's cory booker. you can watc oprah today at 4 p.m. here on abc 7. >> very geneous. all right. meteorologist mike nicco looking at the weekend. and he's coming up. >> and mother nature very genero with the sunshine and the warm weatr this weekend. a few places you can go maybe to beat the heat. we' looking out in santa cruz. you ca see the warm -- i wouldn't sayarm inviting water, the cool inviting water but the warm sandy beach. howbout that! if thas not your thing, a little higher elevation. here we are. taking a look down on lake tahoe which looks absolutely gorgeous, also as far as at we're seeing, you can see that clear sky just about everywhere across the state as warmer weather is starting to take over. let's talk temperatures and what's going on here at home. already in the upper 60s around oakland, redwood city, los gatos, 66 san rafael. and that's the cool spot at the 11:00 hour. the res of us low to mid-70s. the monterey bay, 69 santa cruz

and monterey, salinas already 80 and gilroy. off to the races today with warmer than average temperatures and sunine everywre. good news, it's still going to stay clear and fairly cool at night. weekends, the beaches, they'll be in the 80s in the ocean water. the 50s. redwood city, 3 degrees above average. san francisco 9 and oakland 11 degrees warmer than avere. yesterday we got bac to average. today we jump above average and this weekend we just kep building the heat as this area of high pressure keeps building over the west coast. and because it's such a strong ridge, it's going to hang arod through at least about tuesday, maybe even wednesday of nex week. for today our highs down in the south -- the east bay will be the warmest wi 89 dublin, low to mid-90s everywhere else. on the east bay shore we have richmond and berkeley in the low 80s, mid to upper 80s for everybody else. south bay mid to per 80s until los gatos at 90. 87 san jose. peninsula today vy nice.

low to mid-80s for you. tonight it will cool down enough to sleep well. low to mid-70s along the coast today. downtown sth san francisco and sausalito upp 70s to low 80s. mid-80s san rafael, vallejo and petaluma with upper 80s to low 90s the rest of the north bay valleys. beaches 15 degrees cooler but upper 70s and relatively calm conditions. lower 70s carmel, montey, mid to upper 80s the res of monterey bay. tonight's temperatus, mid to upper 50s the north bay valleys and upper 60s to low 50s for the rest of us. take you up to tahoe and talk about what it's goi to do. a lot of sunshine 75 today, 79 tomorrow. 80 sunday. yosemite looks at the lowest elevatn. going to be hot, 100 degree temperatures but look at that dry air down in th 40s at night. here's your acu-weather seven-day forecast. we add about to 4 degrees on to the temperatures tomorrow, again sunday and they'll peak on

monday, nr 90 around bay, near 80 at the coast. monday we could have poor air quality. air will start to clean and cool slighy wednesday and thursday. temperatures still above average. >> thanks. >> than a lot. listen to this, two south bay hospitals unveil what they hope is say new tool to cut down on your waiting time in the emergency room. san jose's good samarin and regional medical center wil now post emergencyoom wait times on their website. and they will send users the same information via text message. officials are stressing the tool is not meant to help those with serious life threatening injuries. if you have stroke or heart attack symptoms, you should call 9-1-1. >> a sudy by the university of arizona show elevator buttons have 40 times the bactria found on public toilet seats. researchers say e-coli and other stomach bugs are common on those

buttons touched by huneds of people. a typical office desk has 400 more times bacteria than a toilet seat. the upshot, alwa wash your hands before you touch your food. >> good elbow technique there, kristen. >> coming up, friday's perfect pet. >> up next mike will back to intduce us to piper.

our ate has a huge deficit. meg whitman's plan will make it billions worse

by eliminating the capital gains tax for wealthy instors, includg herself. economists say her plan wi "rip a hole in the budget" and is "deeply flawed". analysts for the l.a. times say whitmas plan is a "pure handou to the rich crting a "huge risk" to schools and public safety. jerry brown's against this fair giveaway because it will take billions from our chilen when we can least afford it. get california working again-for l of us.

coming up at 5:00, the u.s. bank handing out multimillion dollar bonuses to dozens of executives the judge's ruling anytime whether california will move forward next week with its first execution in five years. those stories and more a5:00. >> time for friday perfect pets mike here with a new friend. >> here with pip from the peninsula humane society how are you? >> doing great. piper as you can see is a cocker spaniel. wants to get down and play. it's amazing, came to us as a stray. and it's amazing because he's obviously a pet. he knows sit, down, knows high five. >> very nice! >> and sit up. he's the coolest dog in the world. he's so cool. he rode up in the car so great. looking out the window, really little copilot. just a neat dog, a fun dog loves to play ball. your better part there.

(laughter) >> he wants to play! >> you wanna dance, okay. >> a really nice dog. representing all the dogs we have, datsuns and poodles and cocker spaniels. >> you had him alrey a year? >> too many. we'd like people to come down and adopt pipe and all the others. >> if you're interested in piper, call 650-0-7022. there you go! >> piper! (laughter) >> so cute. that's going to do it for us. >> that's all. thanks for joining us.

(speaking in intertional language) and he sd unto them go ye into all of the rld and preach the gospel preach the gospe ♪ every creature inhe world. (applaus